Chapter 124: The Elders

Toshirou began forming seals with a solemn expression on his face.

He had to be serious. The upcoming experiment would determine whether he could attempt to practice Sage Mode without external help. Not only without external help, but he also didn't possess the essential 'Dog Beating Staff' required for Sage Jutsu training.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In contrast to his seriousness, this jutsu was executed effortlessly.

Ignoring his shadow clone, Toshirou sat on the ground and began refining chakra. This experiment was relatively simple. It relied on the use of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, inspired by the main character Uzumaki Naruto from later in the series.

The principle was also quite simple;

First, create a shadow clone, which would take half of his chakra, then the original body would continue to refine more chakra, ensuring that the original body had more chakra than the clone. Of course, this depended on his physical and mental energy being adequately replenished.

In short, chakra wasn't something that, once depleted, couldn't be refined again but depended on one's physical and mental reserves.

"Let's begin!"

Once his chakra was refined and his body was once again filled with it, Toshirou glanced at his shadow clone and nodded.

"Every time there's something dangerous, it's always us clones that have to do it. The original body is really ruthless! When will you take the risk yourself and leave us to watch?"

"Stop complaining! It's not like you really die! Every time I also feel pain, okay?"

Ignoring the complaints of his shadow clone, Toshirou had no time for chit-chatting. His time was extremely precious.

"Ah! Truly unlucky to follow you..."

Although still grumbling, the shadow clone obediently began to prepare. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, like an old monk in meditation, it started to do the real work.

Meanwhile, the original Toshirou watched his shadow clone intently, activating his Sharingan to catch every change in the clone. In his hand, he held his little sword, ready to strike at any moment. The blade reflected dazzling light under the sun, clearly unsheathed, with its tip pointing towards the shadow clone as if ready to attack at any moment. This was the root cause of the shadow clone's dissatisfaction.

As time slowly passed...

Five minutes... 

Ten minutes... 

Half an hour...

Though there weren't any changes yet, Toshirou, the original body, showed no signs of carelessness. Instead, with time passing, his eyes widened even more. The Sharingan's tomoe began to rotate slowly as Toshirou concentrated even harder.

Without any forewarning, Toshirou, the original body, decisively struck his shadow clone with a clean and swift slash. The blade cut through without a hint of hesitation.

Poof!

A white puff of smoke covered Toshirou's figure...

"As I thought... my hypothesis is feasible..."

As time passed, Toshirou's silhouette reappeared completely. Except... what was with that posture of one hand holding a sword, one hand on his hip, and laughing maniacally at the sky? Could it be that the title of Uchiha's Four Maniacal Laughers was about to become Five?

No wonder Toshirou was so out of character. The experiment just now proved his hypothesis could work, making him so happy that he lost control of his emotions.

Just moments ago, Toshirou's shadow clone began to deform from its abdomen without any warning. Under the Sharingan's vision, it appeared abrupt, with a rapid change towards petrification. Toshirou decisively interrupted this transformation, resulting in chakra dispersal, memory return, and the pain of that slash. Notably, there wasn't a trace of uncontrolled natural energy due to improper mixing proportions. The uncontrolled Sage Chakra didn't return to his original body with his consciousness. This was crucial!

Otherwise, he could just go home! All his plans would have been foiled! He would have to wait patiently until the Third Shinobi World War, hoping to snatch the Uchiha's inheritance, the fan from Madara's hands, and try again. But that was extremely risky, facing even an ancient Madara. Just thinking about it made Toshirou feel like he was walking into the lion's den...

With his experiment's success, that plan vanished from his mind. Ironically, when you think about someone, they might just be thinking of you...

"Madara, that kid Toshirou you're keeping tabs on seems to have been at sea for quite a while..."

"Due to being at sea, my clone lost his trail..."

In a giant dark underground room, a white grotesque figure with half a face and deformed body was speaking to an elderly figure seated on a stone chair. Under the faint candlelight, the figure had a head of snow-white long hair, an aged face, and a once-proud back now hunched due to time's erosion. Yet, the uncovered eye remained as rebellious and sharp as ever, clear and bright.

Yes, this elderly figure was none other than Uchiha Madara, who had been silently plotting the Eye of the Moon plan. Toshirou was one of his targets of interest.